Russia is now training its troops to use helicopters for launches first person view (FPV) drones to counter Ukraine’s unmanned surface vessels (USVs). New video released by the Russian Tactical_13 Telegram channel It’s the first time we’ve seen Russians use a helicopter in this way.
The video shows a Russian putting on the FPV goggles, while another takes an FPV drone, opens the door and drops it over the water. From the operator’s point of view, the drone flies low over the surface, but no USV is visible.
Using a helicopter as an FPV drone mothership in this way makes a lot of sense. You can greatly increase the range of FPV drones by bringing them forward via a mothership aircraft. Generally, the FPV drones have a maximum range of about ten kilometersbut operationally it is usually much less than that. They require continuous line-of-sight communication with their controllers. However, their range can be maximized by avoiding terrain that could disrupt their signal. Elevated antennas and relays installed on balloons or placed on unmanned or manned aircraft, such as a helicopter, can extend their connectivity much further with more consistent connectivity. You can read all about this here our previous piece here.
In this case, the helicopter is both the delivery system and the control node. By operating above water and having the controller well above the surface in a helicopter, the absolute maximum range and flexibility can be squeezed out of these drones. This also fits with a broader move towards more advanced drones with ‘air-launched effects’ launched by a mothership aircraftbut this rougher version of the concept makes achieving even a basic skill like this much more feasible.
FPV drones can hunt USVs, colloquially known as drone boats, while also acting as precision-guided munitions that are agile enough to chase and destroy them, although it is always more difficult than it seems.
Using helicopters to launch FPVs is a new step in the development of drone combat in this war, where FPV drones have dominated the battlefield. Suicide drones from the air have been used before to attack boatsSo it makes sense that Russia has moved to a maritime interdiction environment aimed at countering long-range Ukrainian drone-boat attacks.
By launching FPV drones from helicopters, Russia could cover large parts of the Black Sea. It is much better to be able to attack Ukrainian naval drones before they can get close to a port or ships than to rely on close-range weapons from a ship or coastal defenses. peaks and other obstacles in a harbour. The following video shows Ukrainian drone boats being blown up in the port of Sevastopol.
#war Another video of the breakthrough of
drones in the port of Sevastopol in the early morning of March 22. One of them was stopped by a bang at the entrance to the harbor and exploded. Two others managed to jump over the booms and were destroyed already in the harbor. pic.twitter.com/3bWHShWwEx
— Captain(N) (@Capt_Navy) March 23, 2023
Russia has previously used FPV drones to attack Ukrainian naval drones.
What is said to be the first recorded copy of this was released in May, which you can read more about here. It was unclear whether video from the time showed an attack on an operational or captured Ukrainian USV. However, the head of the Ukrainian Directorate of Defense Intelligence (GUR), Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, told us at the time that Russia had been using FPV drones to attack Ukrainian drone boats for several months. You can watch a video of that meeting below. Launching and controlling them via helicopter allows for a faster response to these threats, much further away than FPV drones launched from land or ships.
Unfortunately, the Russians are using FPV drones to destroy Ukrainian naval drones
It is unclear when and where the meeting took place. pic.twitter.com/HyTVaJOnxH
— PS01 △ (@PStyle0ne1) May 29, 2024
The use of helicopters to defend against Ukrainian drone boats is a well-established tactic. The war zone first reported in May that the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) had released a video showing it was an R-73-equipped Ukrainian USV being attacked by a Russian Marine Ka-29 Helix-B attack helicopter. The USV made a number of harsh maneuvers to try to escape the Ka-29, but was ultimately destroyed. apparently by gunfire. The Russians use helicopters in key suspected target areas, including ports and infrastructure, to spot and attack marauding drone boats.
Ukrainian naval drones have caused widespread damage to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet with attacks about havens in crimeone and ships. They have been so devastating that Russia has moved most of its BSF from Crimea to Novorossysk, Russia. Ukrainian Sea Baby drones were used to that attack on the Kerch Bridge in July 2023.
These attacks have served as a lesson in asymmetric warfare, where one side with an extremely limited navy can pin down a much larger force with numerous surface and subsurface fighters.
It makes sense that Russia would try to change this equation by doing for the Black Sea what FPV drones have done for ground warfare in Ukraine and Russia. Launching FPVs and piloting them from an overhead helicopter is also likely to quickly migrate well beyond the conflict in Ukraine, with special operations aircrews already using and reviewing similar concepts but with more advanced weapons, many of which offer less flexibility then the FPV drone. does, at least over short distances, and costs much more per round. But in the meantime, we’ll have to wait and see if Russia finds success with this new FPV drone application. Considering how this war has developed, we will probably find out sooner or later.
Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com
